


The Marigold Field

by Babycupquake



Series: The Marigold Field [1]
Category: Fantasy - Fandom
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-04-08
Updated: 2019-06-01
Packaged: 2020-01-07 02:26:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 9,902
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18401264
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Babycupquake/pseuds/Babycupquake
Summary: When the thunder-day phenomenon happens for its thirtieth time, Haruka and Haruho are whipped from the marigold field forest across the street and into the god's world.





	1. Chapter 1 - Awesome Prologue

In an attic, it was raining. Raining leaves. Although half the sky was lit with a starting sunset, it was nonetheless beautiful. Half of the other part of the sky was covered in a shroud of stormy darkness. It was a town phenomenon, it only came once per year. They say anything good of the heart wishes came true—anything targeted to harm others would never come true.

 

I was stuck inside my home—it was noon—and I had no school today. I decided to walk outside.

My name’s Haruka. My surname is Hayashi, my mother’s maiden name. It’s really not that important. I’m an American-born Japanese & Korean—a minor.

 

I live in Washington state, in the town of Bramblebrook. I was born in the spring, hence the “Haru” in my name. I’m also thirteen years old. Speaking of which, my birthday’s coming soon. I’m (as always) inviting my two best friends, Lily and Haruho. Lily’s my Korean cousin, from my father’s side. Haruho’s Japanese like me, and his mother and my mother are best friends since they were toddlers when they lived in Japan. Our moms thought it’d be cute that we would both have Haru- in our names. I don’t really mind except for the part where the substitute teachers have pronounced Haru- wrong. I’ve been called all sorts of names by the substitutes.

I head outside, where I see Haruho lugging out the trash can. He sees me and wave. I run over to him.

“What’s up?” Haruho asks.

“Want to walk with me for a sec?” I ask.

“Sure, let me change my shoes,” he says, glancing down at his flip-flops. He runs back outside with a pair of shoes and socks. He sits down and puts on his socks, then steps in his shoes.

“Done yet?” I say, impatiently.

“Yeah.”

 

We walk to the edge of the forest and sit on two tree stumps located in the marigold field. It’s warm, the field bathed in half of the heat of the sun.  
"What did you do today?” Haruho asks.

“Sleep.”  
“How was it?”

“Boring. And so is this conversation,” I say, rolling my eyes. “I want something to do.”

 

“Then help us.” a voice says.

 _Oh wow, yay, something to ruin my day,_ I snarked in my head.

“Who was that?” I ask.

“I am one of the guardians of the five realms,” the voice responds.

 _Cliché name, but okay_ , I thought.

“What do you need help with?” I ask.

“Our realms are crumbling apart,” the voice says. “The three queens had a magical... dispute. The protector orbs were flung around the realms. We can’t touch them, because the magic is fading which puts up a protective barrier around it. Only humans can touch the orbs, because they aren't gods. It will be your jobs to do so. Please.”

“Fine,” I reply. “I accept.” Haruho chimes. I roll my eyes.

“You may also bring one more companion,” the voice says. “Also, my name is Cynthia. I am the ruler of the Air realm. If I did not exist, the realm would fragment.”

I’m utterly amazed, and I wasn't sure what was happening. And for one, why was I asked?


	2. Chapter 2 - The Jump

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> They jump in the portal and it's automatic destruction.

“Should we go yet?” I ask Haruho.

“Yeah, let’s go.” he says.

 

A portal opens above us. We jump through, with me going first. It suddenly gets colder. I grasp Haruho’s old track jacket. I’d gotten the jacket after some girls had thrown away my jacket. Then portal gave a brief chill, then it suddenly got warmer. I hopped out to find myself in a chilly floating island, a cool mist clearing away the areas that my warmth had touch.

I then got slammed into the back by Haruho, who’d decide to dive into the portal instead. I nearly land face-first into the ground when I felt someone grab my hood. A young lady in pink-grey dress had a stern, but a kind look. I gasp and stand up. “Thank you.” I say.

“It’s fine.” I deduced this was Cynthia, her regal posture and obvious crown was present. Haruho rubs his head. “Sorry,” he says to me. I narrow my eyes at him and help him up. Woah. The castle that was in my view was immensely huge. Large spires on the top of the towers were a sparkling blue, the quartz that composed the castle was pinkish-silver.

“Here’s my castle,” Cynthia says, “Notice the details, and I’ll explain to you.”

 

As we head inside the castle with, another blast of chilly wind swept through us, leaving us in a vulnerable state of coldness.

“You okay?” Haruho asks.

“Never been better,” I say, chattering and shivering, so he takes off his own jacket and covers me with it.

“Thanks,” I say. It’s super warm.

“No problem.” he responds.

 

The area of the castle was blistering cold, with only so much as a torch lighten up.

 

“If this is Cynthia’s castle, why is it so abandoned?” I ask.

 

“All my servants had to escape. They couldn’t stay in there, before you got sick from the gas that was covering the ground,” Cynthia said, pointing to the ground, where a dark fog emitted from the kitchen.

 

Haruho steps forward and rubs his finger into the fog, which turns his gives him a dark film. I take his sniff it, I gasp, to realize what the smell was.

 

“Smoke!” I say.

 

“In its purest form, you can collect it. But this is the rare gas type that’s poisonous to us.” Cynthia explains.

“Ingenious. But if there’s smoke…” Haruho trails off.

“There’s a fire.” I finish.

 

We race to the kitchen, where in the stovetop, there’s charred remains of a block of multi-shaded wood, and a match.

 

“Fyre wood,” breaths Cynthia. “Wood only grown in the Fire realm, able to burn at high temperatures. A staple in making the spiciest cuisine.”

 

“Do you think it’s the Fire realm?” I ask. “Possibly, because we have a growing feud in the midst,” Cynthia says.

 

“You know, anyone could try to use the to sabotage you guys.” Haruho says thoughtfully. Cynthia frowned, probably due to his lack of formality. Whenever I talked politely, she seemed to look better. I jab Haruho in the elbow and whisper, “You’re being rude,”

“Sorry.” Haruho apologizes.

 

“It’s likely that someone did that, but look, there are scorch marks on the ground. Usually Fire realm people can make it scorch.” Cynthia points out. I nod.

 

“Are there other places in the castle?” I ask, knowing full well that there must’ve been more evidence in the castle.

 

“Over here,” Cynthia says, dashing to the center of the castle. I gaped as a I saw the deep, endless, dark pit that seemed to reign doom. I am terrified of death-inducing heights, not to mention the simpler fears, such as insects.

 

“What caused this?” I say, trembling. “A Fyre meteorite. They can make huge holes.” Cynthia explains to us. I step back a few steps. Haruho looks at me curiously. I never told him about my fear of heights. I’ve already inconvenienced him quite enough.

 

“Do we have to jump down there?” asks Haruho, who looks like he’s about to. “Not at all, but we do need to investigate the other areas.” Cynthia says, pointing to the area around the hole, which was shaped into a stair-like formation.

We run over to the stairs, and I grab the wall tightly as we descended the rough, marble steps. I shiver again as the cold mist ran over us. As we went further down the steps, I noticed a shiny object. I hurry down and pick it up. It’s a glowing, light blue crystal with a dizzying effect. My eyes were blinking slowly now, so I shove the darn thing in my pocket and close the zipper. “What was that?” Haruho asks. “I don’t know, and the crystal’s making me sleepy,” I respond with a yawn. “May I see?” asks Cynthia, who floats over the hole. “Here you go,” I reply, giving her the crystal.

“This is a hypnosis crystal! These are illegal to distribute in the realms.” Cynthia exclaims.

“Why are they illegal?” Haruho asks. I knew he probably knew the answer that, but I believed it was to have some idea of it. Haruho is fantastic at hot-reading, but he absolutely is bad at cold-reading, so he directly asks for his answers. I’m terrible at getting to the point, so I can’t do hot-reading, so I do cold-reading instead. We do these things because we like to learn about a person before we get to know them, because most people (girls) dislike me for being “pretty” (which I am not, but Haruho deduces it like that for some reason) and for being “popular with the guys” (another deduction, but how can I argue with that? Haruho’s always right) so they try to do these things to me. There was this one girl who hated me, but I thought she was fun to be around, but she only used me for popularity and back-stabbed me. This led to me and Haruho to carefully judge a person before we friend them.

 

Anyways, Cynthia is odd. For one thing, I noticed she always stay away from us when she could, second, she always gave us a direct answer instead of telling what things was, especially when it seemed important (a hypnosis crystal? And you’re not going to tell us what that is or how the hypnosis affects us? Really?) and she was always was confident when she explained things to us. It seemed unusual that she wasn’t “shaken up” by the chaos going around, she seemed fine, like it was perfectly normal to have your palace to have a huge, gaping hole inside.

 

That was all I had notice for now, I’d have to do some more investigating later. My head starts to ache as we came to a small door. I open it and smoke comes out. I cough. I notice some cords in the back, and I assumed it was those food service elevators. But, boy, I was very wrong.

 

“Those are used to transport the deceased,” Cynthia says.

 

I choke on the unpleasant smell that was reeking and wafting out the door. I slam the door and step back and cough hysterically. Haruho chuckles, and I give him an annoyed look. He shrugs.

 

“Why in a hole so small?” I ask, still stepping away from the door. Haruho grabs me by the arm and pulls me down the stairs. I stick my tongue out at the door in disgust.

“We needed room for the food service,” Cynthia explains, and points to a large door that was three times the size of the morgue door. I make an ack sound. After about twenty minutes of silence, we get to the bottom of the stairs, and I gasp at the darkness, which about ten people were lying on the ground, with dark smears on their body. All their heads shot up and they groan simultaneously.

 

“Help us…” one cries.

“Save us,” another one moans.

“Save the others,” a third one groans in agony.

“Help me!” one screams.

“I don’t want to die!” one shrieks.

 

I looked at the pile helplessly. How could I save them all? The idea forms in my head as I asked myself that question. I grab as many people I can and haul them up the stairs. “Take five people!” I say gasping to Haruho. He easily grabs all of them and we run up the stairs and lay them on two steps each. “Haruho, go find something we can use to tend their wounds,” I say, looking at a man’s shoulder, who had a large burn running down his arm from there.

Meanwhile, Cynthia had disappeared again, and I was anticipating the time. I look at their wounds. It seemed to me that they’d been there for some time, maybe two hours. Their wounds were not very deep, gratefully, so I could apply some water, medication, and bandages. I was slowly starting to get angry. Cynthia could possibly heal these people, but she never even decided to come back. I hurry along up the stairs, where Haruho is waiting for me. We lay the people on their backs. Six men and four women. I take a few of the bandages that Haruho found from the first aid kit in the kitchen. I apply some of the cream also stored inside and lather a ton everywhere. After a while, we were done. We take the adults and lie them on the wall, then we head outside of the castle. A moment later, Cynthia appears. I wasn’t about to reprimand Cynthia, however, so I kept quiet.

 

“Let’s go to the Fyre realm.”

 

 

The Fyre kingdom? Wouldn’t we die there? And as if she read my mind, she says, “They use synthetic fire for the foremost defense.”

 

Well, that helps a lot.

 

On cue, Haruho asks, “How do we get there? Another portal?”

 

“Indeed.”

 

This time, when she opened the portal, it was blazing with immense heat. I started to perspire, so I take off my jacket and Haruho’s and tie it around my waist. I give him back his jacket. I stare inside the portal. Deep redness, like what I would’ve thought. Like a volcano. I take a step back and jump. In a millisecond, I was overcome by the blazing heat. I gasp and cough. I realized I was standing in a flame, but I felt no heat from it.

 

“They’re Fyre barriers, they keep you from burning in the realm.” Cynthia explains.

 

I look behind me and I see Haruho struggling to stay cool. I grab his hand and I feel lots of coldness radiating. “How are you still so cold?” I ask, twisting his hand all over the place that it might permanently twist itself.

 

“I know how to store a consistent temperature,” he says, smiling.

“I’m still not used to being so warm,” I say.

 

It was usually cold in Bramblebrook, so whenever I got hot, I cooled down almost immediately. The only time we experienced blistering heat was only one day; Independence Day. I did almost everything with Haruho, so I did track a lot. I continue track, but Haruho’s a junior coach at school. He won the state championship.

 

I grab his arm and hold on it tightly and Cynthia coughs. “Let’s go.” She says.

As we walked up the large stone bridge, the smoke cleared, and the fortress came into view. The fortress was bigger than any fortress I’ve ever seen. We continue up the bridge and there’s this stand where I see an elderly man behind it. We walk up, and two chairs appear. We try to walk around it but a barrier has stopped us.

 

“Sit,” says the elderly man. We do as we told.

 

“I’m a fortune teller,” the man says, “and I will reveal all your secrets.”

 

I roll my eyes at this. Fortune telling was a sham. The last time we went to a fortune telling place, the fortune-tellers were saying that I “had a crush on someone” which is not true. I have no feelings for anyone.

 

“You, young man, have been holding a secret for a long time, since your second year in elementary school. First grade.” The man continues.

 

“I have?” Haruho asks. When he said, that his face came into realization as it dawned on him. What a bland conversation. I started to stand, but then some sort of force came down and I slammed back down on the seat.

Startled, I ask, “What is he talking about?” to Haruho.

His face turns red as he stammers, “N-nothing. You don’t need to know. Yet.”

 

I shrug. “Tell mine!”

 

The old man gives off a mischievous smile and I started to get a bad feeling. (I mean, I already did, but it increased)

 

This makes me nervous when people smiled like that.

 

“You’ve been in love with someone for a long time,” he says.

 

Again! Honestly! What is wrong with these people! This further led me to the fact that people can’t fortune tell properly. They think that I’m in love with someone? This just makes me mad. Couldn’t they tell me anything else besides that? Like, what’s my future in school! But they always start with “Romance”

 

I sit up, put my hands in my pockets and stomp behind the stand. I walk as fast as I can and end up in front of the gate in a matter of minutes. I almost have a heart attack as Cynthia appears out of thin air. I fall backwards and almost fall into the surrounding pit, and again, Cynthia grabs me by my clothes.

 

“What are you even doing?” Cynthia says, chuckling. I cross my arms and say, “I had a bad experience at a fortune-telling place again.”

 

“Oh, old Mundy?” Cynthia asks, “His fortune-telling is always on point. He’s always right.”

 

I internally screamed. Always right?! That means I really am in love with someone?! I shudder with disgust. Love was overrated.

 

I had not expected that the man would know an “extra-terrestrial’s” life—nonetheless answer the question.

I had to redirect the questioning of my fortune.

 

“Haruho—Haruho got the same one as I did.”

 

 

Wait. That still lead to mine. Whoops.

 

“What did he get?” Cynthia says.

 

“It says he was in love with someone for a long time. His was very more specific than mine.” I gasp out.

 

“Oh.” Cynthia replies.

 

“It’s not true though. Haruho tells me everything!” I say. “Maybe he didn’t tell you that.” Cynthia says flatly.

 

“Yeah right.” I reply.

 

“It’s not true! It’s not true.” Haruho says, running up to us. His face is still bright red. “See?” I say triumphantly. Cynthia just rolls her eyes.

 

I push open the gate and a blast of heat waves over me. I laugh nearly inaudibly. (People say when I laugh like that I’m literally dying inside)

 

Inside the fortress, there was lots of waterfalls of lava pouring out red-hot cauldrons. There were dark, shiny crystals forming out of the cauldrons, each forming and breaking off repeatedly. I saw a dark red tub containing the crystals, and I tiptoe over to the tub. It was brimming with heat from the crystals. I take a loose pebble and drop it inside. The rock hiss and turns white. Then it crumbles.

 

“What are these?” I ask Cynthia.

“The make-up of Fyre meteorites. The crystals are combined with strong, activated charcoal and a bit of lava to form, then they fill it with gunpowder and other chemicals. When they launch it at high speeds, it can make a large explosion, and blow up. They usually are made to blow up mountains, so they can mine for coals.” Cynthia explains.

 

“Sounds terrifying.” Haruho says, but his expression said otherwise.

 

“Consider that a warning for you two; don’t touch any of this if you can help it.” Cynthia warns. I wasn’t even about to consider a thought to touch it. I could tell that Haruho was fervently looking in the tub, so I pull him backwards.

 

We head inside the fortress and look around. Streams of lava-filled lamps were strewn around the ceiling, and there were crystals the size of lightbulbs that acted like lamp posts. I wondered why they needed so many lights in a realm made of fire. There were lava waterfalls behind the glass windows. But I noticed they weren’t very bright. In fact, as we passed through, the lavafalls’ glows began to dim slowly. Interested, I was about to ask Cynthia. But she had disappeared again to my disbelief.

“Why do you think the lavafalls are dimming?” I ask Haruho.

“Maybe it’s some sort of signal?” Haruho theorizes.

“We’re not a threat though.”

“Well, how am I supposed to know?” he says angrily.

I gathered that Haruho was upset that Mundy had guessed his fortune. Haruho is usually very private about his feelings, so he usually tries not to show it. Despite that, I can see right through him. “Why are you angry? Did I do something?” I ask quietly. He flushes again and says, “No, you didn’t. Sorry.” and he gives me a grin. It was clearly fake, as it is the same one that he usually gives the girls in the class. I frown and sped up my pace.

At the end of the hallway, there was a large, imposing door that threatened to fall on our bodies if we didn’t open it properly. I carefully pushed the doors open as slowly as I can, and the left door’s hinge breaks off. It clatters loudly on the concrete floor with a loud crash. No dust had brought up, so I thought that was weird. The door was so old. I peer inside the doorway, and I see a round table with some tall chairs. There was something on the tabletop, but I couldn’t see from there, so I step inside the doorway and I hover over the table. It was a large map, streaked in red ink and multicolored circled locations. I lift the map and attempt to read the writing.

 

Palace Plains 

Ethereal Hills 

Nimble Mountains 

North Wales

 

The notes on the map was very hard to read. I kept squinting at them to see if there was some hidden meaning to them, why this person had chosen to go to these places. I was mystified. In the footer’s margin, there in small writing, had said,

 

“To find me, go North, East, West, and South.”

 

 N.E.W.S. was the acronym for the directions. News? I searched the map and found a place called No-place News. I went to the first location, Palace Plains, turned the map around and went the direction, up, right, left, and down, and landed in No-place News. Haruho looked over my shoulder and says, “Do you think we’ll find the person who wrote the markings on here?”

“Probably. But the person who must’ve wrote on this map must expected the person who was going to find this didn’t know the directions. That’s why they wrote the directions on the footers. Look at how sloppy the handwriting is, that person must have rushed to somewhere quickly."

 

"I wonder if Cynthia knows more about these places," Haruho says with a far-off look in his eyes. I frowned. Cynthia wasn't about to help us. I could tell, but he seemed to think otherwise. He grinned in the air. I take the map and go outside to see in a better lighting, and a message on the back of the map appears. It says, "Meet me at Perennial Palace at 6:50 P.M. Be there or else." Or else? What if I chose not to? I look at my watch it had frozen in place, which still remained at noon (PDT), but when I clicked the dual time mode, it changed to 4 P.M., which was crazy and cool.

I felt breathing over my shoulder, and turned to see Cynthia. "I changed your watch time to fit with ours."

"Thanks."

I didn't need it, I didn't want it, I didn't like it, and I didn't ask for it. I was growing frustrated at Haruho for readily accepting her help even though it was extremely obvious that she wasn't about to help us.

I was about done finish reading the map, memorizing the destination route, the locations, and the rest of the other landmarks. My fingers crumpled the map and I shoved it into my pocket. “Let me see the map again,” Haruho says.

 

“No, I’m going to keep it.” I say, still mad. I wasn’t sure why I was in a bad mood, so as I was contemplating, Haruho reaches in my pocket and pulls out the map. “What happened to it?” Haruho asks. 

“What do you mean?” I asked, confused. 

“The message is gone, and the destinations have been wiped away.” Haruho observes. I grab the map and say, “How is that possible? It was just there a minute ago!” and turn it around. Yes, everything was, in fact, wiped off. In a magic world like this I wasn’t surprised, but I was momentarily confused. I’d notice the ink used on the map was different in color, a pale grey color, but the red ink was bright and fiery. Like magma or some sort of charcoal fading out.  

As I had memorized the map, I knew that I had to walk out of the palace from the north entrance, which was the same place we came from. I spun around and ran out the corridors, stepping on a large steel plate in front of the main gate, and the gate closed, and four guards in red-hot metal uniforms and a mage rush at us. I panicked. I ran to pot of lava and stood on it, climbing up the rails that were holding the cauldrons up. Haruho follows. 

“You two, be cowardice or fight!” one guard said.  

“I’d rather be cowardly,” I snarked. 

“I’d fight.” Haruho says. “With what?” I say in surprise. “This.” 

He snaps of a loose piece metal rod, dips it into the red-hot molten metal, forming a sharp end. The rod starts to get hotter, and I notice Haruho grimacing. “You should let go of it!” I said. “N-no, hold on.” Haruho struggles. A second later, I hear a hissing sound, and Haruho’s hand starts to turn black. He drops the metal and I catch it. The heat sears into my body, but the metal stops smoking. I turned to Haruho and he’s blowing his fingers. “Does your hand hurt?” I ask. He shakes his head.  

I take the metal and peel off some of the rough edges and hand it back to him. I take his hands and try to rub off the black burns of his hands, but it doesn’t come off. 

That’s when I know he’s permanently damaged his hands. “Your hands are all black! You’re not all right!” I screech.  

“That’s okay with me.” He says, shrugging. “How is that okay with you?” I say angrily.  

“Because I’ve burned myself before,” and I recall the time we first made ourselves stir-fried ramen, and the oil from the pot had burned his hand. The stitches had faded long away. The second guy who had called us out had threw his lance in the air, narrowly missing my heel.  

I reach out and grab it and pull it in the air as high as I could, so he wouldn’t be able to grab it. Then I stab it down in the vulnerable spot in his shoulder where cloth was present. He howls in pain and grabs the fourth guy’s lance and cuts a long sharp cut on my thigh. 

I flinch. Blood seeps out of my wound, landing in the men’s armor.  Without getting noticed, the third dude had already started crawling up the pole, and it wasn’t until Haruho had grabbed the lance and was struggling not to get stabbed. I carefully crawl to his side and kick the guy’s hands off the lance, and he falls backwards into the pot of lava. He gives a blood-curdling shriek, and as quick as he had yelled, it stops. 

He’d fallen unconscious. And any longer he stayed in the pot, he’d start to burn away. Then I remembered he had fire immunity and I was extremely relieved that he wasn’t hurt, but he was going to come for me anyways. I skid down the pole and grab the lance from the guy’s shoulder and swing it around me in a full circle. I’d learned how to use a pole in my karate class when I begged my teacher to show me, so I knew. The burly guy who was half asleep was wide-awake now, and he was charging me at full speed. I parried his incoming lance with mine. He falls backwards, and I kick him in the chest. He tumbles down the mountain bridge. Two more guys to go. The second dude who acted like the captain was jumping up and falling on me, so I stab his other arm. “You’ll be sorry!”

“Oh no, did I hurt your feelings?” I say, “I didn’t think you’d mind—” I stab him in the gut.

 

“—BEING STABBED AGAIN!”

“OW! Darn you!” he roars.

“There’s nothing to “darn me” about.” I say, shaking my head. He drops his lance and I quickly pick it up. 

“Catch!” I yell to Haruho. 

Haruho deftly grabs the lance mid-air and pushes the blunt side of the lance down on the third guy’s helmet. The guy grabs his helmet and runs away. All the men were gone, but the mage remained. 

He puts up a barrier and shouts, “Char pile! Crush them!” and a comet-shaped UFO comes at our heads. I pull Haruho and poke the barrier with my lance. It cracks, and I push a fragment, making the perfect opening for both of us. Haruho’s right on my feet, and he trips, pushing me down on the mage, and we fall. The UFO slides off the barrier and tumbles down in the abyss. 

“Get off me!” the mage says, and I get up. I offered my hand, but he slaps it away, stinging my rough, blistered hands. A blister pops and the skin inside appears. I rearrange it on my finger, and it hurts. The mage had no bit of remorse, and his extremely unsettling grin had disappeared and left a hard frown. 

“Yo, dude, you didn’t have to slap me. And plus, you’re outnumbered, so we’ll take our leave.” I say, walking outside the barrier walls. 

I feel his hand pull me back inside, and suddenly our faces are inches apart. “I’m taking both of you. You are obviously intruders,” He says with malicious delight, knowing two human teens would surely benefit him in some way shape or form. “Also, you’ll be perfect for our ruler.”  

“How can we benefit your ruler if this castle is deserted?” I observed.“This isn’t the main castle. This is where we used to make trades and tariffs and all sorts of government things. The main castle is hidden.” He chuckles. 

I wonder what the ruler would like. Two humans that are clearly outsiders would be perfect? Wouldn’t they have us killed or sent us back down to earth? While I was distracted, the mage flicked his hand, then suddenly, I struggled for air. I gasped, and I blacked out. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Lol, I'm EST time.


	3. Chapter 3 - The Cursed Orb

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The pair end up in a cell and a celebration.

I smelled a breeze of an ocean, and I sit up groggily. My head was still spinning. I look down to see my clothes covered in sand, and I gasp. I was wearing a sundress and a straw hat. And my legs were very small.  

 

“ _Are you awake_ ?” says Haruho, who was kneeling towards me. I blink. _“Yeah.”_  

 

I was surprised my voice was still very high pitched. Haruho’s was as well, then I noticed that he was also very short.  _“Haruho, where are we?”_  

 

He looked surprised. “ _Point Roberts. Why?”_  

   
Then I remembered when we were eight we had gone to Point Roberts for summer vacation. We went exploring through a cave. As soon as I remembered that, my vision started to shake rapidly, and I clutch my temples.  

 

 _“Do you want to go exploring?”_ I ask. 

“Where?” His voice had lost his squeakiness, and it cracked into a deeper voice. 

“Down that area,” and my voice had returned to normal. He didn’t seem to notice. 

“Aren’t we too young to walk alone?” Haruho says. I sigh, and grab his hand and say, “If we stick ourselves like glue together, we won’t get lost.” 

His faced turns red. “Are you sunburned? Dehydrated?” and he shakes his head in response. Okay. 

We hike up the mountain, and there’s a cave that’s there. I gulp, and I remember that hiking up this very mountain had given me my fears. I grab Haruho’s arm and we continue. 

It was beginning to get darker and colder, and small breezes were forming. We reached the entrance of the cave and I see an orb form from the salt around the cave. “Should I grab it?” Haruho asks. “Try so but be careful. I don’t want you to hurt your hands.” I respond, too focused on the orb to pay attention. He slowly reaches for the orb but hesitates. Then he trips and punches the orb and knocks it off its altar, and a strong force knock him out the cave, and he tumbles out the cave, and falls into the water. 

 

“HARUHO!” I screamed. I look through the water, and I don’t see his body. A current comes into the cave and I fall into the water. 

 

I suddenly come to, and my head is slicked with sweat as I rub my eyes. I see Haruho’s head turned to look outside, looking through the bars of what seemed to be a prison cell. 

 

 “Haruho!” I say with enormous relief, swinging my arms around him. He’s warm, and not the least bit cold like the eight-year-old version of himself. He smells like citrus and char. “Wh-what?” Haruho stammers. 

“I had a dream! AND YOU JUST DIED!” I shriek. A mask of confusion washes over his face. “What happened?” 

 

I explain the brief details, being at Point Roberts, we go through a mountain cave, him touching the orb and flying into the water. His face changes to one of disbelief, mixed with thoughtfulness. I lean my head in his chest and yawn. He pats and caresses my head. “What happened while I was asleep?” I say in a small voice that sounded like a child.  

“After you got knocked out, the mage hit me on the back of the head with his staff, but all it did was give me a bad headache, so I feigned unconsciousness. We went under a channel of passages that was as big as a maze. I remember the order of how we got in, though. Then we were thrown into this cell. I should’ve fought back, but that would totally been the death of us, and plus my hands already hurt.” Haruho explains. He didn’t seem to realize that he had given himself away, when he already said is hand didn’t hurt. 

Two men approach our cell holding large piles of colorful cloth, ranging from red wine to deep shades of onyx. The short man said in a deep voice, “Here you go, you mangy humans. Dress up and make yourself look nice for the ball.” 

“Ball?” I asked. 

“It’s the princess’s birthday, and they’re announcing her marriage plans.” The tall man said in a very squeaky voice. “Wait,  _marriage plans_? The princess is getting married?” The short man said. His face was filled with rage. 

“I overheard it by accident.” The tall man says, locking the door. “You mean eavesdropping?” The short man says in a cantankerous voice. 

“Same thing.” The tall man says. 

I rolled my eyes and chose a honey-colored dress fading to a scarlet. I looked at the shoes. There were fancy heels which I despised, and ballet-flats, worn and ripped. If I chose the flats I wouldn’t have to suffer but I might get laughed at, or heels and suffer the pain but still looked nice. I decided to suffer, because I already had joining this world. There was a marigold corsage, so I pinned it on. I decided to do my hair in a fancy bun that Lily taught me. My heart ached as I thought of back home. I was only gone for three hours but I missed my home. At least I had Haruho. 

“You look nice.” Haruho’s in a fancy tux, his bangs slicked back behind his ears. I laughed. He looked like a butler. 

Waiting for the men to come back, I wrapped my shawl around my body, as it was extremely cold. I looked around. The cell was huge, and there were vines crawling around the walls. 

All too soon, the men came back, and we were cuffed on the way out. We walk through the doors, a couple of people only there. Of course, the princess was nowhere to be seen. 

I glanced at the guests’ expressions. It was filled with slight curiosity, and but some were disgusted. I smiled my nicest smile at them and a few gave small smiles back. Then I see the mage giving his evil grin, and the next thing I know I’m feeling scared, yet, a blush runs through me. Haruho doesn’t notice the mage’s appearance. After about then minutes more guests come in and the princess comes from the stairs. 

She’s ravishing, she has a slim build and slender face. Her cheeks are plump and rosy, and she has the slightest bit of eyeliner around her eyes. Her honey blonde wavy tendrils curve and frames her face. Her golden dress is so magnificent it made everyone, even the well-dressed people look like they were dressed in rags. I pluck my reddish-brown hair, wincing that I should’ve tone down the brightness of my hair.  

“Behold, the Princess Halidia!” a man without a trumpet says. She waves politely to the audience. 

“Everyone, welcome and thank you for coming.” She says in a clear, lovely voice. I cough slightly and made note to not sound raspy like someone with a sore throat. I turn to Haruho, big mistake, and his eyes are filled with awe. I just stare at him with my mouth open. I can totally see my face in my head, looking pissed. I mentally correct my facial expression, so I look like I’m not angry, just saying, “Seriously?”

Haruho sees my face and grins. “Are you jealous?” he whispers.

“I-I’m not! It should be illegal to be this pretty,” I grumble, realizing what I just said. 

“Then you’d be in jail.” he mutters. 

“What?” 

“Nothing.” 

The princess was at the bottom of the stairs, and the crowd parts away for her. “Let’s commence the dancing!” she says in a tone so chirpy I half-expected for bluebirds to come out the windows.

I scurry to the back of the room, and I hide behind a column. I didn't want to be seen, or I would get called out. I recounted and recalled everything I learned, sinking to the bottom of the pillar.

A random man in No-place News wanted to meet the reader of the map. Walking out, guards immediately stop us with a surprisingly good looking mage. We get knocked out and sent to a hellbent kingdom whose princess looked like she lived in a fantasy land than chaos and hell. 

Recovering from my initial distress, I realized it had been a little more than ten minutes, and I peek from behind the column, and there was Haruho himself, shining in happiness while dancing with the princess. I'm almost about to make a scene (in my head) approaching Haruho, and I feel a large, dry hand pull me back. A voice whispers in my ear, "Well, hello there. How's it going?" Ugh, it's that mage and his stupid smile.  
  
"Let go of me," I say, gritting my teeth.   
  
"Let's dance first." and I'm being pulled to the dance floor where Haruho's doing the...chicken dance? with that princess.  
  
The mage snaps his fingers and a waltz comes on. That princess and Haruho get so close I feel my lunch about to come up. 

We're dancing halfway through and I'm spacing out to realize that the mage's face is mere millimeters from mine. I jerk my head back.  
  
"What do you want from me?" I asked.  
  
"Oh, nothing. By the way, you look very elegant in those clothes." he compliments.

"Thank you very much." I said, trying not to roll my eyes. That was more than what Haruho had said, so I felt a bit grateful someone noticed my "hard work."

"It's very flattering. Also, isn't your companion dancing with the princess more than usual?" he says, fingering his slitty little fingers at my corsage. I jerk back again.  
  
"I don't care." I say. "You should. As I  _am_ the princess's future husband." he says, grinning more.   
  
"Then why the heck are you dancing with me?" I asked, pulling away and accidentally stomping my heel into someone's foot. I turn around to apologize and next thing I know, all eyes are on me.  
  
"Ow! Why did you do that for? That hurts a lot!" the princess says, grabbing her foot.

"I'm so sorry!" I say in horror.   
  
"Yes, she is." and I feel the mage's foot trip me and I land in Haruho's arms right before I hit the ground. I hear the slightest snapping noise and I feel a pain running down the sides of my waist.  
  
"Erugh." I hold my waist.  
  
"Come with me." the princess says, bringing me to a staircase. We go through a few flight of stairs and we end up her room.  
  
"Are you alright?" I asked.  
  
"Are  _you_ alright?" she asks.

"Your Highness, your health is the primary concern here." I say.  
  
"Yes, but you're a guest—"  
  
"—I'm being held prisoner for some reason—."  
  
"—and I couldn't forgive myself if something happen to my guests. Also I know, Charles is the most dreadful person ever?" the princess says.  
  
"The mage?" I ask.  
  
"Yes. He's going to become my husband. He's an awful person. He trips me, he messes up my hair up, he puts cockroaches in my undergarments, and he sometimes gets a firefly to peek on me so I'm sleeping for his next prank." she explains.  
  
"Princess Halidia, don't you have any other options?" I ask.  
  
"Call me Daihlia. Halidia is so old-fashioned. My great-great grandmother was named that. No, I don't. It's been like that. Actually, he was a very nice person back then. He was sort of dreamy. I had a crush on him." she says dreamily. "Let me explain from the beginning. I'm telling you all this because you seem to be the only girl around my age. The other girls are in their early twenties."  
I nod.  
  
"So we've had a three year difference. He was like an older brother to me. I had a crush on him and it was obvious. I was so head over heels for him that I begged my father to let me marry him. So he called off the other suitors when I turned your age. As soon as I turned 14, he renounced his ways as a page and declared he had a talent for magic. He became attractive that way, helping every damsel in distress."

"This turned him quite arrogant. He became more focused on appearance than traits, and his magic became even stronger. He, knowing full well I wouldn't mind him using magic on me, used his magic to test out things. I didn't care, but I came upon him making out with a random girl, him describing how I made him, "lose his free will to find his own love" and that he would "use me" because I meant less than a pile of dirt to him. I became angry over time, and when I inflicted my pain on him his pranks became exceptionally crueler. Our fathers were best friends. His father was the only page to have small magical talent and a reasonable, assertive attitude in his skills. But after his wife gave birth, she left them. Never came back. His father was extremely strict so that Charlie would have anything he wanted by hard work. After he turned sixteen his father went missing and my parents took him in. Only my parents and I know this. I felt his pain. And he didn't even..." she trails off, sniffing.  


"Considered how you felt about him?" I murmured.  
  
"Yes, exactly." she says through tears. "I really hate him now. It was a small crush. I'll get over it."  
  


I look through her eyes. "You still love him, despite what he does." I smiled.  
  
"Yeah, I do. I really do." she says, wiping her tears.  
  
"There's nothing wrong with unrequited love." I say, giving her a hug. Realizing how close I was, I step back.  
  
"Also your boyfriend is a good dancer. He's also funny." Daihlia says.  
  
"He-he's not my boyfriend," I say. "He's my best friend."  
  
"He talked about you a lot." she says.  


"That's how he is," I say with a wave of dismissal. I refuse to acknowledge love until I have my priorities straight.

"Let's get back to the party." she says, peeling herself off her bed. I nearly open the door on Haruho's and that g*dd*mn mage's face. 

"What are  _you_ doing here?" I say in a very bitchy tone. Whoops.  
  
"We—" Haruho starts.  
  
"Not you," I say, cutting him off. "This guy." I say, poking the mage in the knot of the tie.

"You have a lot of nerve coming here." Daihlia says, angrily to Charles.  
  
He puts his hands up. "I was just—"  
  
"I don't want to hear it." she says, putting her hands on ears.

  
"Daihlia!"  
  
"You have no right to call me anything except Your Highness." she says darkly, eyes flashing with resent. I couldn't help but giggle at how weak the mage looked just being shot down by her. Haruho glances at me with disgust. I shrugged a "What?" at him.  
  
"Why are you being so mean?" he asks.  
  
"Why are  _you_ being so mean?" she replies. "After I've been nice to you and not minding all those pranks on me?"  
  
"Daihlia, look, I—"  
  
" _ **Silence**_. Not another word or you will be thrown out of the castle." she says sharply. This renders him speechless with obvious guilt and hurt on his face. She peers at him for a moment.   
  
"Come with me." she says. We go to the ballroom where there are at least 15 people who have left. 

 

"Everyone, thank you for coming. The party is now over." Halidia announces. People march out with party favors.  
  
  
"Now, it's time for your mission, isn't it?" Halidia says. "I've had you two released from prison."  
  
"Thank you so much!" I say with a lot more sincerity in a long time with someone other than Haruho.  
  
"You're welcome." and she smiles with the most beautiful smile I'd ever seen.  
  
"We have to go now." I say.  
  
"After you change, come see me." she calls out as we go to the dungeon.  
  
"Alright!"


	4. Chapter 4 - The Narcissistic Mage

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The princess gives assistance, and they have a sub quest.

I hurry up the dungeon stairs. We'd gotten baths so I felt a lot better.  
  
The princess was sitting in a chair reading a huge book. "Your Highness?" I ask. "Ah, you're ready! I've given you guys some satchels. They have some food and ropes and clothing for every season."  
  
"Oh my gosh, thank you." I say.  
  
"You don't need to thank me. For the first time I've had someone who was so understanding, you don't need to repay me for this." she says, happier.  
  
"Hello, ladies." Charles says, putting an arm around Halidia, who automatically swings her body from under his arm. "I'm coming with you and that companion of yours."  
  
"No. You knocked me out. And also put me in severe pain." I said, heaving the bag on my shoulders. "Hey, it was protocol." he argues.

"It's not protocol to make fun of a princess, is it? So stop bothering us. She doesn't want anything to do with you." I respond, sitting on the floor.  
  
"It's not like she had any choice. After all, it was her decision to kowtow to her father to ask to marry me." he sneers.

It was anything I could do not to spoil the happy mood we were having.

Thankfully my lord and savior, my best friend, came to the rescue.  
  
"Aaaaah, Haruhoo thankk yooouuu," I say, throwing myself on him. "I have no need to suffer anymore! Ciao!" I hand the bag to Haruho's arms and lead him outside.

"Bye!" Halidia calls.

I wave.

"Please, let me come with you guys!" Charles says. I kick him in the head.

"Stop bothering us and go apologize to Halidia!" I say.

"It's not worth apologizing. She's stubborn. She's not gonna listen anyway." Charles whispers.

"She's done with you, that why. Also you lack the ears to listen, which is why she threw her ears out the window." I roll my eyes.

"Well, that's her fault."  
  
I kneel down to his face, and give an evil grin. "Do you love her in any way shape or form?"

"Why are you asking me that?" he asks.

"Don't avoid the question," I say. "You know, she loves you with all her heart. But then you were always too stupid to notice."

"I'm not stupid!" Charles retorts.

'You're missing the point. C'mon, let's go." I say, pulling Haruho's arm again.

"Okay, so we go up these steps to the maze," Haruho mutters. "Then we follow the passage route."  
  
"Wait!" Charles said. "What?" I moan.

"If I apologize can I come?" he pleads. I considered this. They could make amends and live happily after, after he stop bothering me on a trip.

"No." I said firmly.

"What if you need magical assistance?" Charles tries again.  
  
"We have someone. Girl named Cynthia." and at that moment, she pops out.  
  
"CHARLIE!" she says joyfully. 

"CYNTHIA!" he says with as much pleasure. I almost barf out my lunch yet again.  
  
_Wait till Halidia sees this. She'll be so disappointed. No, actually, murderous,_ I thought. How dare he! Pleads for forgiveness yet still cheats on her trust?

"This guy is something else..." I muttered to Haruho. "Totally." he responds in a hushed tone.

"Love makes me sick just looking at it." I murmured. 

Haruho looks surprised. "Why is that?"  
  
This is one of the many things that Haruho doesn't know about me. I kept this under wraps for a reason.

"Because, love can change a person easily. Their whole routine could change. It also is disgusting to look at." I said. Now, this wasn't my true feelings, but it was partial.

"I guess you're right." Haruho agrees. He shakes his head to himself and starts humming our song.

Suddenly, I can't help but get a flashback while we continue our walk.

It's younger Haruho, much more cheeky and confident. But there was also something about his attitude that changed drastically after we turned four. But what was it?  
I peered at the younger version at him more. I remember I asked him something. The way he responded, I instantly knew what was different.

A tsundere! He was a tsundere back then. I couldn't believe I forgot about that. It was the main barrier of why we clashed when we were little. I sighed in disbelief. Haruho looked at me quizzically. "You've changed." I said to no one in particular. "Who?" Haruho asked.

"You." I said. He's obviously confused, and I can't help but laugh at him, but I caught myself. I laughed way too much at him. "Never mind."

We continue to walk, and soon we're at the other side of the maze. I remember our original mission was to get the orbs, but then what? What was the result?

I pull out the map, and point out the directions for Haruho, then we go north. After three hours, we end up at the Palace Plains. I wondered why it was called that, then I noticed all the little boulders the shape of castles littered on the plains. I kneel down to look at the intricate windows.

"Aw, they're so cute!" I squealed.

"Do you want one?" Haruho asks me.

"No, it's fi—" I start, not before knocking the tiny boulder out of the ground. The whole ground starts shaking.

"Uh, I guess that's what happens when you take one out." Haruho tries to joke. A huge boulder breaks through the ground, and I push Haruho out the way, both falling on the ground.

"Who dares to take one of my precious boulders out?" the huge boulder-statue rumbles.

"It was an accident! Believe me!" I cry.

"Many have said that. Why should I believe you?" the statue growls.

"Uh..."

"If you want forgiveness, you need to do three things for me," the statue continues.

"You need to

  1. Get a vial of luck, any type will do except the man-made ones. The best is the harvested one. You can find them in North Wales.
  2. Pick three mushroom leaves in the Ethereal Hills.
  3. And retrieve a bottle of sustainability from my oldest enemy, Nimble Mt." he finishes.



"We were already planning to go to those locations," I said. 

"And stay there." Haruho adds.

"Believe me, when I was once a demi-god myself, it was no easy feat. You can not simply 'stay there'. You need to have the right security passes to get in. Those are extremely hard to get." the statue says. "If you get all these items, I can summon the security passes for those three locations. In Ethereal Hills, the Perennial Palace is fiercely guarded by the flytraps. You need to go the official North Wales mansion if you want to get the vial of luck. You can make some, but it won't be as potent as the one I need. Good luck, though." 

"Thanks. But what about Nimble?" I asked.

"He can create waterfalls, lava, and other erosion types, so be careful." statue adds.

We both thank him, and keep venturing on to North Wales. The mysterious man would have to wait.

"Why are you so chummy with people here but so sarcastic with our classmates?" Haruho says jealously, which surprised me.

"Because they're different." I reply simply.

"Different how?" Haruho asks.

"Because they don't take me seriously, they ridicule me, and I have no friends in my classes except you. So don't be surprised." I grumble in anger.

The truth is, I gave up on making friends altogether. My classmates hated me because I was an overachiever, and I was always one of the top. And Haruho was always popular, so the girls hated me for sticking with him. I was always grateful for Haruho sticking with me, yet I never show it, because I refused to show any sign of dependence.  And these people in this world didn't know me, which was even better, because I didn't have to force a faux appearance.

I felt like I was disliked for shallow, trivial reasons, so I ignored all the bullying around me. I have a black belt in karate, but I don't even try to fight the girls, it would just make them hate me for fighting back skillfully. I get bullied a lot, but I don't tell anyone, because it just won't stop. My best friends in elementary school were out of range, so they had different base schools.

Also, how would you know that person would stay your friend, or is truly your friend? In sixth grade, I was very naïve about my former so-called best friend, Zerina, who appeared to be my best friend. The truth is, she became my friend to get close to Haruho, and to find embarrassing things about me to shame me. I gave up on making friends thanks to that, after she broadcast facts in a detailed speech over the PA system, which further ruined my reputation, and left me humiliated. They had locked out the teachers in order to do so, but when they got in, the damage had already been dealt. She was suspended with a couple other girls.

My peers mocked and described me all sorts of nicknames, but I was walking around like a zombie. Haruho had an annual family trip so he was gone that week, so I had no one else to go to.

 When Haruho came back, he was informed with the situation, but it was extremely biased. A lot of the facts had included himself in it, and they were all against him, so he ignored me for two weeks.

I was not the same person after that, I was a sarcastic, cynical person on the outside. I never showed my true colors after that, and I mocked every single person who dared to do the same before. After a while, me and Haruho started talking again, but our relationship ship was slightly strained for a bit. Things didn't get better until we went to Paris for the summer, for a vacation. We made up, and I declare the rest is history.

We take a break about an hour later. We're almost at the chateau, I can see it in the distance. We find a tree trunk to sit on. We take out the provisions and start to nibble on them.

"We're almost there!" I said, leaning my head on his shoulder. "Three something miles to go." I look at my watch. It was 3:30 in the morning. The sky was slightly lit with stars.

"Look, a comet." Haruho says, pointing to the blazing rock.

"Let's make a wish!" I suggested.

 A wish. I don't usually make wishes. Wishes don't usually come true for me, and besides, I've got everything I want. I feel so satisfied with my life already. Great friends & family, and excellent grades, and a spot in the Nature Club. I don't need much.

For those who argue with the fact I'm content with my life, you would think I would want someone to love. I don't want anyone to love, because it would mean favoring them over everyone else (and I definitely would, by the way) and I already favor everyone I consider. And I would like someone who's been by my side since I was little. Too bad there isn't one.

I made a wish to have a wish in the future instead.

"What did you wish for?" I asked, sounding a little too innocently for my taste.

"You don't need to know," Haruho says, greatly embarrassed.

"I made a wish to have a wish," I said, "Because I don't have anything I want."

"Not even love?" Haruho murmurs. I give him a look to know that love was still a touchy subject for me.

"Let's go." I said irritably. We get up and continue, going down the hill.

After another 30 minutes, we're in front of the chateau, and it's 4:02.

There's something glowing in the window. I squint. It's a bottle with neon green liquid. Probably the vial of luck.

"How do we get inside?" I whispered.

"I think we need to go through that hatch." he points to the trapdoor on the side of the hedges. All of a sudden, all the house's lights turn on.

"RISE AND SHINE, FOLKS. IT'S A FRICKING NICE DAY OUT. HUSTLE!" A voice shrills.

Nice day? It was clearly dark outside. But this lady's voice had a tone of scary authority ringing inside it.

"Quick!" Haruho says, pushing me down the ladder. The trapdoor closes with the tiniest of bangs. Haruho falls down the ladder, on me, our face just inches apart. And for some strange reason, I blush.

"Uh, sorry." Haruho blushes as well.

"It's fine." I say, pushing his face away.

We crept in the cellar. It's extremely quiet, with a small lamp lighting up the room. There's a smell of salt.

 

 

 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Also, I made a wiki in progress for the Marigold Field!
> 
> https://the-marigold-field.fandom.com

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading to the end! uwu


End file.
